Do You Thrive?

Trainers

Coach Julio Peña is a professional boxing trainer who has 25 years experience training amateur and professional boxers. He has worked with Olympians, and has trained National Champions and Open Class Golden Glove Champions. The following is a list of the professional boxers that he is currently training and/or managing. This list is expected to continue to grow in the near future.

Patrick Lopez: Pan American Champion, 2 time Venezuelan Olympian and many additional championships, amateur record of 289 wins and only 13 losses, considered the best amateur boxer in Venezuela, at one time professionally ranked in the top 10 in world in the 140lb division

Omar Coffi: 4 amateur wins against Alfredo “El Perro” Angula, considered one of the best amateur boxers in Venezuela

Jean Carlos Prada: Venezuelan Olympian

Jimmy Clancy: 5 time Irish National Amateur Champion

Coach Peña has had the honor of working in training camps for three different World Champions. He has traveled to Mexico for the training camp of World Champion Erik Morales. It was the same training camp facility that Julio Cesar Chavez would train at during his professional career. Coach Peña traveled to Puerto Rico for the training camp of World Champion Miguel Cotto. Lastly, he traveled to New York for the training camp of World Champion Kendall Holt.

Coach Peña started in martial arts at the age of 8. He trained in Tae Kwon Do before moving to Free-Style Martial Arts and competing in full-contact Kickboxing. He opened the first Kickboxing school in Patterson, New Jersey. Through the years, he continued training in the martial arts and began working with MMA fighters on their striking. He was UFC coach, Mark DellaGrotte’s boxing trainer for a couple of fights when DellaGrotte was actively fighting in Muay Thai. He is currently training Alexandre “VACA” Moreno in striking. VACA is the current WFL Champion in 2 divisions, 185lb and 205lb weight divisions.

JAMES HOYT

James Hoyt began his training in both wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu while still in high
school in the state of Vermont. James, now 26, was a 4 year collegiate wrestler and has
enjoyed some unique opportunities in the sport. While still in high school, James was the
practice partner of Robert Hamlin, a wrestler who would eventually take 2nd in the NCAA
Division 1 finals. He also served as the practice partner of JJ Jackson, a wrestler that would
become a NCAA Division 2 National Champion.

As a competitor, James has been very successful and is a ranking purple belt in Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu. This serves as a powerful compliment with his outstanding wrestling ability. In
2006 James placed 1st in the advanced division of the Vermont grappling championship
and finished 2nd in that same tournament the following year. In 2009, James took 1st place
in both the Copa America Grappling Tournament in Georgia, and the New York Submission
Wrestling Tournament, doing both at the advanced level. James intends in furthering
his career in competition in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), grappling tournaments, and the
Olympics as a freestyle wrestler.